Will Java ever be replaced?

Java has been there in the software engineering market for the last 26 years. Despite the fact that Java is a pretty old programming language it is still widely used in almost every technical field like Mobile Application Development, Web Applications, Desktop GUI, IoT applications, Web Servers, Big Data Technologies, and many more. As per the PYPL and TIOBE Index of 2022, Java has been ranked the 2nd and the 3rd most popular language respectively. This data clearly shows the dominion of Java over the market.

But why is Java still so popular? One of the biggest reasons Java is so popular is that Java is platform-independent and portable. Java programs can run on different types of devices and Operating Systems as long as they have a Java Runtime Environment (JRE) installed. Almost every single Windows, Mac, Unix, or Linux computers, as well as mobile phones, are compatible with JRE. Because Java has been around for quite a long time now, most of the top Fortune 500 companies have all of their legacy code written in Java and is still used them. Java is evolving daily to catch up with the newest technological advancements and trends. Java is Object-Oriented hence making it a much more secure language. It runs in Java Runtime Environment with almost zero interaction with the Operating System. Java is robust and dynamic. It follows the concept of Write Once Run Anywhere (WORA) which means that the code once written can be made to run on any device or platform as long as it has JRE. Java is Multithreaded and supports multiple threads of execution. Java also has a rich and multipurpose Application Programming Interface (API). It is useful for several purposes like networking, database connection, parsing XML and handling I/O, etc. Java also has a lot of open-source libraries such as Google Guava, Apache POI, and many more.

Java also has one of the largest developer communities. It has the 2nd largest developer community on Stack Overflow. Its community is supportive and highly active.
Despite having some negatives and downsides, Java still rules the majority of the market. One of the main reasons being is that Java is being improved and evolved constantly.
So, will Java ever be replaced? Well, it may be but it will take a humungous amount of money and active participation of many big companies in order to replace Java (Which seems quite unreasonable and illogical to do).

Should you learn Java as of 2022?

As Java is evolving on par with the newer technologies, there is still a huge demand for Java developers in the market, making it one of the best languages to learn even in 2022. Once you have proper command over Java, it becomes easy to learn other trending and highly paying technologies like Mobile App Development, Java Web Applications, and many more. Many useful software and development tools are written and developed in Java. Java is also used in new and budding technologies like Big Data, Cloud Computing, and many more.

The demand and opportunities in the field of Mobile App Development have been surging exponentially over the last few years and it does not seem to stop. Android Application Developers are highly in demand right now and the pay is also very high for the role of Android App Developers. Java has been the main language for Android App Development for quite a long time now and it will continue to be so even after Kotlin was introduced for Android App Development.

Big data means a large set of data and the method by which data engineers deal with it. There is demand for prominent roles in the Big Data field. Java tools and technologies like Apache Mahout and Apache Hadoop make Java efficient and good in the field of Big Data.

In recent years Could Technology has been in rising thus bringing out new opportunities and chances. Java has various tools for cloud development like AWS SDK for Java and Oracle Java Cloud Service, making it easy for Java developers to secure a job in Cloud Computing.

If you want to become a Unit Tester then java also has its own unit testing framework called JUnit to test and debug the units.

Java surely might help you land that high-paying job you’ve always dreamed of.

Java is everywhere, from your smartphones, and smartwatches to Flight Control Systems and even Rocket Launching systems. Java has become an integral part of the development market since and before the boom of the technological era.

Here is an easy recap of a few reasons why you should learn Java in 2022:
➔ Java is beginner friendly.
➔ Java will not be replaced for quite a long time.
➔ Java is versatile, evolving, and flexible.
➔ Java Developers are highly in demand.
➔ Java has a great and supportive community of fellow developers.

Negatives / Downsides of using Java

There obviously isn’t a single programming language that has all the positives and no negatives to it. There can’t be a single panacea to use for every single kind of development and programming. There is always some catch in each and every single language.

There are inevitable downfalls or downsides of using Java that must be kept in mind before learning it.
1. Java programs are much slower when compared to other languages like C/C++.
2. Java does not support low-level programming and is less machine interactive plus it does not have the concept of pointers.
3. Java does not provide any backup facility and mainly focuses on storage and not the backup of data.
4. Java programs consume extra memory since they run on top of Java Virtual Machine (JVM).
5. Not a feasible choice for the development of Hard Real-Time applications where each and every millisecond matters. Java has limited options for latency critical tuning.
6. Oracle announced in January 2019 that they will be charging an amount for the commercial license for the use of Java 11 and above. Java was free until then. Java for general purpose is still free to use but in order to access all the development features of Java, a fee has to be paid.